Second try- Failed
Can anyone provide some solid solutions to improve the content area 4?
I had my second try on PA yesterday. I felt much confident when answering most of the questions but still turned out pretty far away from the passing %. And interestingly, I got 77% on my first try.. it turned out that the more I studied, the lower the correction rate I received, lol.
I have studied Amber Book, Building Construction& Code Illustrated, SPDH, Elif, and Ballast.
I realized that some questions in the exam were hard to absorb from the majority of studying resources. Either very trivial (especially among choosing 3/4 out of 6 questions), or based on practical experiences. However, those questions might be the critical factors for passing or not. Does anyone feel the same way somehow?
Thank you.
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I have not taken PA yet so I could be wrong, but I believe the Problem Seeking book is a key resource for this exam (it is marked with a star in NCARB's reference matrix for PA). It is THE definitive manual for architectural programming and in my opinion is something every architect should read anyway. Based on the content area you are struggling with, it may be worth adding this book to your study material?
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This section is so broad and covers SO MANY CRITICAL TOPICS. But here are some things you can practice for this particular section:
- how to read soil boring reports
- the 4 historic building treatments: preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction - know the differences
- Net v/s gross (do lots of math problems on this subject)
Hope this helps and good luck!
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Some others that I can think of:
- Elif's quizzes have a ton of "programmatic questions", to do with spatial organizing. Practicing those can be very helpful
- The questions she has on phasing also fall under this section.
- Section 2 of the Architect's Studio Companion "Selecting the Structural System" and Section 4 "Selecting Heating and Cooling systems" is also key...I wouldn't read "sizing the systems" for PA, that's more for PPD....but understanding structural assessments is part of this exam.
- Practice Topo maps
- Traffic patterns - SPDH is best for this
- Parking, especially ADA requirements - SPDH and the 2010 ADA Standards (actually this is available in multiple resources)
- Also cost - the second half of Pena's Programming book is good for this. basically feasibility of the project.
This section 4 accounts for 30 items out of 75! So it is very broad and in depth. Hope this helped some more!
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I agree with everything Amrata said above. In addition, I would also recommend reading the Planning and Urban Design Standards book. I think even the student edition is a great help with PA. This book used to be in the NCARB's Reference matrix but for some reason they removed it. But I still recommend it to people and they still get back to me with great feedback. Best of luck!
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Hi Ching,
You came close to passing!
I'd suggest reading Problem Seeking & the Site Planning & Design Handbook. Also review the PPD material; ASC is good for this. Retake this exam asap!
Rebekka
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